


Not So Dire Straights

by AwayLaughing



Series: All The Days That Have Passed [13]
Category: Naruto
Genre: 30 Day OTP Challenge, Dorks, First Aid, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-12
Updated: 2014-07-12
Packaged: 2018-02-08 11:42:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1939719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AwayLaughing/pseuds/AwayLaughing
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Neji takes a hit for the team - namely his genin team. It's not even a big hit, but genin are known for dramatics and seem intent on making mountains out of mole hills. Luckily, Shikamaru and his bandages play an excellent counterpart to the drama.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Not So Dire Straights

**Author's Note:**

> Challenge from [here](http://awayandlaughing.tumblr.com/post/68217772129/30-day-otp-challenge-for-the-fluff-impaired)
> 
> Day 13 - First Aid

Neji hated overseeing D-ranks probably more than his team hated doing them. It was duller watching children paint a fence than the actual painting was. That said, for once he wished his job had stayed boring. The job had been easy, painfully, insultingly easy. All they had to do was clean out some of the guest houses in Konoha's largest ryokan. Five guest houses, three genin, four hours, no problem.

 

In theory.

 

Theory went out the window, however, when paranoid guests left seals behind in their haste. Theory went really far out the window when paranoid, asshole guests left a particularly fiery version of the standard explosion-trap seal behind. Neji had spotted it with roughly two seconds to spare, and had managed to get both his endangered genin well out of the way. He himself missed most of the damage, save an uncomfortable scorch on his elbow. It didn't stop his students – or the ryokan owner – from following him around in near hysterics. He'd managed to dump Shirogane-san off on the Police Force members who came to investigate. His genin team, sadly, were both more insistent and not of any interest to the two women conducting the so called investigation.

 

“But sensei,” dark eyes fixed themselves on him, “what if it gets infected?” Leave it to Yuudachi to ask the question, Neji thought as he saw Nana's features shift to pure alarm. “Tou-san's a suregon you know and once he told me-”

 

“Enough,” Neji said, jerking his arm in a slashing motion and ignoring the pain that screamed at him not to do it again. “You are alarming yourself and your team mates.”

 

“I'm not alarmed sensei,” Nana said, though the way she was furiously staring ahead gave her away on the lying front. Neji didn't know how he'd gotten two such transparent students. The third student, who had been as silent as he usually was, was looking around.

 

“How come we're not going to your house?” he asked, fixing his glasses in what was clearly nerves. Tokikata was much calmer than Nana or Yuudachi, but he was only eleven all the same.

 

“Who said we weren't?” Neji asked.

 

Tokikata and Yuudachi both frowned, Yuudachi – the only clan child among the three – was the one who spoke. “We're between the old Hatake lands and the Akimichi district right now,” he said, “Hyūga lands are on the other side of the village.”

 

“Correct. Nana?”

 

“Yes sensei?”

 

Neji raised an eyebrow. “Where might we be headed, if not my clan's lands.” The girl bit her lip, freckled face the study of someone thinking hard. A month and a half had not given them a lot of time to bond, and Neji was aware he had been dubbed _scariest sensei_ by the other graduating members of the class. Anko and Iwashi thought it was hilarious, Neji honestly did not care enough to be bothered.

 

“We're visiting a Nara?” she said after a moment. He waited for her explanation. “You've already said we're not going to the hospital, since none of us-” she gestured to her fellow students, “were hurt. Naras are good medics though, and they know a lot about medicine, so maybe if you have a Nara friend they'd help your burn.”

 

Neji nodded. “A very solid deduction,” he said, “any other options?”

 

Tokikata scratched his head. “Well, there's an onsen this way,” he said, “and people say to keep burns clean.” Even as he spoke Neji took the familiar turn toward his house – and away from the onsen. “But that's not where we're going. So we have to be going to see a Nara – there's nothing else around here you'd need to take care of a burn.”

 

He was not wrong. The districts of Konoha tended to be rather mingled, but the stretch that cut the Akimichi's restaurant district off from the Nara's massive lands was mostly artisans and civilian housing, there was even a daycare.

 

“Very good, all three of you,” he said, “almost makes up for not seeing that trap,” Nana scowled and Yuudachi flushed. “You must be aware, in a hidden village – most shinobi myself included trap their homes. Few would use anything quite so dangerous, of course.”

 

“But it was civilian own, sensei,” Nana said, and he swayed ever so slightly to dodge as she lunged for his sleeve. Her tendency to grasp onto stray limbs or bits of fabric was likely because she seemed to have an unending supply of older brothers, but Neji was working to train her out of it.

 

“Civilians can buy and arm a trap as easily as I can make my own,” Neji said, “more easily, in some cases. We have no excuse not to be vigilant. And,” he put enough stress on the word that Tokikata, who was always ready to mount a defense, shut his jaw with an audible snap. “Just because a civilian owned the building, did not guarantee that there had not been a shinobi in the rooms. What were my instructions to you after training this morning?”

 

“Report to Shirogane-san at the Kinkaou Ryokan,” they said in a ragged chorus.

 

“And did you?”

 

“Yes sensei,” they said. “We were told to clean those five rooms, since they were on the opposite side of the baths and the garden.” That was just Tokikata.

 

Neji pressed his lips together, partially in displeasure and partly to keep back his relieved sigh as they walked past the last of the housing. It showed a stretch of green which didn't serve as much other than as impromptu gardens and play places for the civilian children. About a hundred metre stretch between them and the Nara lands, another three hundred meters past the official lands – take a turn, one hundred more meters and then he'd be home. With the bandages and burn balm.

 

First – students.

 

“So what, exactly then, did you do wrong?”

 

Silence.

 

“What did I send you on, Yuudachi?”

 

“A D-rank,” the blond said, sounding unsure of his own answer.

 

“A D-rank _what_ , Yuudachi?” Neji asked.

 

“A...mission?”

 

Neji nodded, turning on his heel to face the three of them. They came to a halt in front of him, shoulder to shoulder. Nana was a dusty red from neck to ears, her bright hair failling around her face. Yuudachi was trying to maintain eye contact with Neji – and failing. Tokikata looked like he'd made the logical leap and was considering trying out the Hokage's monument in embarrassment. Though it didn't show, Neji was certain he was blushing as horribly as Nana.

 

“Indeed. I sent you on a mission, and you as shinobi failed. You did not get the appropriate information, you did not inspect your surroundings or approach it like a mission, or with anything approaching seriousness. In doing so you embarrassed me, you embarrassed your previous teachers, you embarrassed the Hokage and above all,” he looked each in the eye, “you embarrassed yourselves. Now, tell me why.”

 

None of them spoke, all red faced – admittedly some more than others – and fidgeting.

 

“Fine then,” he said. “Tomorrow, training at the usual place, you will all arrive half an hour early and you can review with me what happened here today.” With that he turned, taking up a faster pace than he had even before hand. As he turned the corner he heard the scrabble of smaller feet following on the well trod dirt path and fought a smile. He was displeased with them after all, but infinitely relieved they were making these mistakes in Konoha – not somewhere less forgiving.

 

Shikamaru wasn't on the porch when Neji came into view, wrapping a bandage around his upper tight. He looked up at Neji, offering a rueful smile. “You had a fun day too, huh?” he asked, and Neji could see there was a scrape on his left cheek.

 

“Indeed,” Neji said, resisting the urge to collapse next to his partner. His students were not nearly stealthy enough to evade him nor would Shikamaru have failed to clock their presences. “The deer are living up to their reputations, then?” Shikamaru sighed, pulling a basket of bandages, salves and various other first aid necessities toward him.

 

“I haven't seen them this bad since dad died,” Shikamaru said, “Rikumaru wasn't happy that year. At all.” He gently pushed Neji so he could have access to the burned elbow. “Mind if I just cut this off instead of dragging it all over your burn as I roll it up?”

 

“Please do,” Neji said, reigning in a wince at the thought. “It's not like I'm lacking in spares.” Jōnin blues were about the single easiest thing to get a hold of in all of Konoha and every time Neji turned around he seemed to have more. The fabric was severed with a flick of an abnormally thin kunai, and Neji put out his free hand in silent request to look at. Shikamaru complied.

 

“We use it to help the bucks rub off their velvet,” Shikamaru explained as Neji felt coolness touch his elbow. A second later a sting came, but he didn't flinch, aware it would abate in a moment. “They're useful for other things too though. Like cutting cloth off troublesome jōnin who forget how to dodge.”

 

“I had passengers,” Neji said, not rising to the bait.

 

“So I heard,” Shikamaru said, “Neji-sensei to the rescue, hmm?” As he spoke, he pushed something cloth-like and wet to Neji's elbow. Neji turned his head to study it. “Burn bandage. Some kind of plant – Ino makes them. Keeps the bandages from getting anything into the burn since they're nonfiberous.”

 

“It really wasn't that bad,” Neji said, “I've had sunburns worse than that.”

 

Shikamaru cocked an eyebrow, winding crisp white bandages around Neji's arm in a familiar pattern. Neji had suffered enough arm wounds to know how this went. Finally the last end was loosed from the others and tied off, and Neji experimentally flexed his arm. The pain was negligible, and only slightly stiff.

 

“Do remind me to thank Ino for the burn bandage,” Neji said, turning to look at Shikamaru who was putting his various medical supplies back into the field kit. “And of course for your often overlooked expertise in medical arts.”

 

“Hey those are a family trait,” Shikamaru said, “Ino reading her medical texts at me have close to nothing to do with it,” he flashed a smirk, “and of course I haven't actually gotten to the last part of treating you.”

 

Neji cocked an eyebrow.

 

“And I won't, not with your shadows playing voyeur,” Shikamaru said and it clicked. Neji rolled his eyes and stood, pinning his eyes on the fence he knew his students were crouched behind.

 

“Home, now.” For a moment nothing happened, than three heads – blond, fiery orange and dark brown – all appeared. The head's owners all looked as chastised as they had earlier, and Nana was twirling a stray bit of her bright hair around her finger. “Do I need to speak louder?”

 

“No sensei,” Tokikata's violet eyes were serious, “we just wanted to make sure you actually got your elbow seen to.” Behind him, Neji heard Shikamaru snort.

 

“Do contain yourself, Nara,” he said, aware Shikamaru was likely smirking at him. “As for you three – apologize to Nara-san for spying on him and then go home. You will need rest for tomorrow.” A small part of him enjoyed how they all blanched, Nana's freckles standing in stark contrast against her suddenly even paler face. Yuudachi just looked like he was going to faint.

 

“Sorry Nara-san,” she said, shooting her friends nervous glances. “We...just wanted to make sure sensei was really going to be okay. Since he got hurt because of us.”

 

Neji didn't look at Shikamaru as he came up beside him. “No harm done,” Shikamaru said, “but listen to your teacher and go home. Knowing him he's going to work you into the ground tomorrow.”

 

“He does that every day, Nara-san,” Yuudachi said, before he tugged on Nana's arm. “Come on, my sister might give us a treat if she's heard we almost got exploded.”

 

“Neji-sensie would _never_ let us get blow up,” Tokikata said, following after them and sounding as if Yuudachi had just suggested Kirigakure was a better village than Konoha.

 

“I know that! And you know that and Nara-san and Neji-sensei know that, but she doesn't, so we should use it to our advantage. Like Neji-sensei always says.”

 

“He does not say we...” the sound of the argument faded and Neji finally turned to Shikamaru.

 

“Your face is going to stick like that,” he said, referencing the wide smirk threatening to break into a grin.

 

Shikamaru managed to widen it further, eyes crinkling in genuine amusement. “They love you,” Shikamaru said, “it's adorable.”

 

“They call me scary-sensei behind my back. I doubt I am the foremost person on their list of loved ones.”

 

Shikamaru snickered. “You're a troublesome bastard Neji, everyone and their cat knows that-”

 

Neji opened his mouth to argue but Shikamaru continued.

 

“And many of us love you _for_ it, not despite it,” he finally broke down and grinned, leaning to press a kiss to Neji's shoulder. “Now. Tending's all done.”

 

Neji cuffed him lightly, a smiling threatening the edges of his own lips. “My parents were married, Nara. And that was not a proper kiss.” Shikamaru gave a short chuckle before pressing his lips to Neji's cheek.

 

“Better?” Neji turned into Shikamaru, bumping their noses.

 

“Warmer, at least.”

 

Lips to his jaw.

 

“Colder – but nice all the same.”

 

Shikamaru laughed, tugging him by his wrecked sleeve. “I think this is an indoor game. Besides, this way you can tell your students I walked you to your door like a proper nurse.” Neji shook his head, eyes rolling in exasperation, but did not argue.

 

For once.

 

**Author's Note:**

> These are so loosely related to the prompts OMG. ANYWAY - this is big time jump! About a year and a half between this and Dirty Work (for reference - the "first" story chronologically is To The Victory of the Spoils and happens when Neji's 21. In this story he'd be 27).
> 
> Neji's Genin Team - AKA Team 2 - are all OCs and are as listed:
> 
> Gekkou Yuudachi (11)  
> Mudai Tokikata (11)  
> Yanagi Nana (11)


End file.
